overhuls



(ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1..

D. OVERHULS.

FENCE.

Patented Oct. 2, 1883.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYS (Modell) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. OVERHULS.

I FENCE. No. 286,057. Patented Oct. 2, 1883.

l I I 65& %Wu W 7 ATTORNEYS.

NITED STATES DANIEL OVERHULS, OF OERALVO, KENTUCKY.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,057, dated October 2, 1883. Application filed February 10, 1883. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL OVERHULS, of

Oeralvo, in the county of Ohio and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fences; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved fence. Fig. 2 is a detail view of a corner, showing the manner of fastening the rails. Fig. 3 is a similar view, showing the manner of fastening the rails to an end post; and Fig. A is an elevation from the inside of a corner.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to worm] or snake fences; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of a worm-fence adapted to be built upon land subject to freshets and floods, being built in a manner to adapt it to resist the force of water without being washed apart, as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates the rails, which are of the usual shape and character, and the ends of which rest crossed over each other, in the manner usual in worm-fences. The crossed ends of the rails are secured to a post or upright, B, by means of a wire, 0, which is looped over the top rail, carried behind the upright B, and looped over the same rail on the other side of the upright, then carried behind the upright and looped in the same manner over the rail below from the adjoining panel, and so on until it reaches the ground, whence it is carried up again to the top of the fence, where the ends of the wire are connected together. Upright B is as high as the fence, and is held in the inside corner, while a similar post, D, is placed in the outside corner of the panels, and is fastened at top and bottom to upright B by means of wire loops E. The end rails of the fence are fastened to a post, F, in a similar manner by looping a wire over the rail and carrying it behind the p0st,\as shown in Fig. 3. By this construction the fence may be flooded, and will in the worst case only float upon the wa ter till the water settles, the wire fastenings preventing the rails from separating, and the end posts, which are inserted into the ground, preventing the fence from being washed away, and when the water settles the fence will settle back in its old position. As the posts, excepting the anchoring end posts, only rest upon the ground and are not driven into it, they are not as liable to rot as if they were driven into the ground, where the water would settle in the holes. At the same time, though the fence may be raised by floating upon the water in time of flood, its parts are connected strongly enough to resist the force of stock or the Wind without being moved when there is I am aware that fences have been made in which the ends of the rails are secured to the posts by wires looped over the same, and I do not claim such construction, broadly; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent of the United States, is-

The herein-described worm-fence, consisting of the rails A, the crossed ends of which are secured to posts B, resting upon the ground and placed in the inner corners of the crossed rails, by means of continuous wires 0, each wire being looped over the top rail, carried around behind the post, looped over the same rail on the other side of the post, carried behind the p'ost again and looped in a similar manner about each rail in succession, then carried from the lower rail up to the top of the fence and united with the upper end of the same wire in the manner shown and described, the said posts B being connected at top and bottom to similar posts,D, placed in the outer corners of the crossed rails, by means of wire loops E, the whole constructed and combined as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL ovERHULs.

W'itnesses:

CHARLES VALENTINE CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM HENREY FULKERsoN. 

